WEBVTT
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0
00:00.009 –> 00:05.559
P PFAS, or forever chemicals, as they’re often
called, have persisted their way into water,
00:05.800 –> 00:09.960
fish, air, soil, people and animals all over
the country.
00:10.279 –> 00:13.729
They’ve been linked to several serious health
problems, including cancer.
00:13.989 –> 00:19.459
It’s a widespread problem that’s led many
states to pursue legislation that would block
00:19.459 –> 00:22.290
their continued use.
Minnesota’s Ameras Law,
00:22.379 –> 00:26.729
which was passed in 2023 and took effect at the
beginning of 2025,
00:26.840 –> 00:30.579
is one of the most aggressive examples of
pushing back against PFAS.
00:30.780 –> 00:36.779
The law bans all nonessential use of P PFAS and
requires manufacturers to disclose if PFAs are
00:36.779 –> 00:40.029
present in any products they plan to sell in
Minnesota.
00:40.220 –> 00:42.759
Now a group representing.
The cookware industry,
00:43.090 –> 00:45.959
one of the key consumer products targeted by
the law,
00:46.209 –> 00:49.419
has filed a lawsuit to block it.
According to NPR,
00:49.650 –> 00:55.319
the Cookware Sustainability Alliance this week
filed a complaint against Katrina Kessler,
00:55.549 –> 00:58.889
the commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency.
00:59.009 –> 01:04.000
The CSA alleges that Amera’s law is
unconstitutional and unenforceable,
01:04.290 –> 01:08.489
or as law professor Mehmet Konar Steenberg
explained to the publication.
01:08.779 –> 01:14.400
The CSA is saying that the hassles this law
will create for businesses greatly outweigh the
01:14.400 –> 01:18.120
potential health benefits.
The CSA has been busy lately fighting off
01:18.120 –> 01:21.680
similar PFAS legislation in other states.
In New York,
01:21.720 –> 01:26.440
the organization managed a carve out for
cookware from the state’s PFAS bill after
01:26.440 –> 01:29.360
meeting with several members of the state
Senate and House.
01:29.443 –> 01:34.233
Of Representatives in California, the CSA
teamed up with the California Chamber of
01:34.233 –> 01:38.943
Commerce, the California Business Roundtable,
the American Chemistry Council,
01:39.233 –> 01:44.953
and the California Manufacturing and Technology
Association to fight off multiple attempts to
01:44.953 –> 01:51.475
ban cookware using PTFE, a subgroup of PFAS.
It’s unclear if the CSA will have the same
01:51.475 –> 01:56.695
success in Minnesota, but the MPCA sounded
confident that the law would stand.
01:56.786 –> 02:02.185
It is estimated Minnesota taxpayers will have
to spend $28 billion in the next 20 years to
02:02.185 –> 02:06.055
remove PFAS from wastewater and landfill
leachate in the state.
02:06.225 –> 02:10.735
We simply cannot clean our way out of this
problem, the group told NPR in a statement.
02:11.065 –> 02:13.186
I’m Ben Munson, and this is manufacturing now.